Blasting plans on public record since December

VANCOUVER – Information about blasting of volcanic rock along the RAV Line route has been on the public record for months, Ravco chief executive Jane Bird said Tuesday.

Bird was reacting to a Vancouver Sun story Tuesday, which quoted a RAV Line critic as saying the need for blasting to build the rapid transit line had not been confirmed until now.

In fact, Ravco provided details about its blasting plans in documents it filed with the provincial government’s Environmental Assessment Office in December.

One report says the tunnel builders can expect to find volcanic rock along nearly 300 metres of the route along Cambie Street between 29th and 37th avenues, where the RAV Line route skirts Little Mountain, the remnant of an ancient extinct volcano.

“Removal of this rock will require drilling and blasting,” the report says.

Crews will dig a trench 12.25 metres (40 feet) wide and use track-mounted rock drills to drill blast holes in the rock, which will be loaded with an explosive made of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.

Explosions will be kept small enough to be within “the normally accepted level where no damage is to be done to any adjacent structures,” the report says.

Adjacent properties will be inspected by a third party before blasting begins “to handle any post-blast concerns.”

Seismic equipment will verify the magnitude of the blasts, and the site of each explosion will be covered with weighted blasting mats to prevent flying debris.

Bird said blasting is routine on construction projects in Vancouver, and Ravco expects no special problems with the RAV Line.

Ravco is overseeing the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver project for TransLink, the regional transportation authority.